INTHEBLACK July 2022 - Magazine - Page 48
F E AT U R E
// C A R E E R R E PAT R I AT I O N
person. Do they have an appropriate working visa?
If they need sponsorship, are they able to sponsor the
person? What is the criteria to be able to sponsor that
individual?,” she says.
“Accountants and lawyers can help with people
planning to work elsewhere. They can ask the
important questions: Do you plan to return to
Australia? How long are you planning to be out of the
country for? Are you still registered to vote? Do you
still have private healthcare? Where’s your mail going?
Where will you be paying tax? All of these things need
to be taken into consideration.”
KRIS FOTHERGILL FCPA, DIAGNO ACCOUNTANTS
call for professional advice. What is the role of the
accountant when it comes to living the digital nomad
expat life, or when advising clients who are returning
home after years overseas, or those looking to recruit
international talent?
RECRUITING FROM AFAR
Research from Robert Half shows 71 per cent of
Australian employers intend to hire international
talent on a permanent basis this year, because they
cannot find the skills locally.
That’s not surprising when you consider international
borders were shut for close to two years, creating a
shortage of skilled migrants and people on working
holidays in the labour market.
To fill the gaps, employers are looking overseas, says
Nicole Gorton, director at specialist recruiters Robert
Half. Before doing so, however, she advises employers
to seek professional advice on the immigration
requirements.
“It would be wise for anybody who’s looking to hire
people from abroad to check the visa rights of that
48 ITB July 2022
INTERNATIONAL REMOTE WORKING
The research also shows that a further 60 per cent
of Australian employers expect to lose local talent to
international opportunities this year.
Gorton suggests there are ways for employers to
manage this kind of movement to ensure they can
retain people. Rather than letting people go, offering
people the opportunity to keep their job with some
flexibility factored in can be a good solution in a
talent-short market.
“I think companies need to get a little bit creative
on how they can retain someone in the organisation.
Rather than expecting an employee to resign because
they want to go overseas, employers could be looking
at it differently and offering extended leave, or the
opportunity to perform some of the role from a
different location, because they know how difficult it
is for that person to be replaced,” says Gorton.
While it might sound easy enough to do, and
the world has rapidly embraced digital tools to
keep the wheels of business turning, there are some
logistics that need to be considered when it comes to
international remote working.
Firstly, when an employer announces that all roles
come with flexibility and remote working can be done
from anywhere, does that mean literally anywhere in
the world, or are there restrictions? Is it applicable
only within a given country due to compliance issues?
Is the arrangement temporary or permanent?
TAXING TIMES
The first thing to be aware of is making sure you have
everything in place before switching from resident to
non-resident in order to manage what income is
declared in the Australian tax return, says Grant
Keating FCPA, senior accountant at Expat Taxes.
“A number of people are unaware of the tax benefits
from non-resident status and in fact what they need to
declare in their Australian tax return.
“We have seen many people run into trouble
because they didn’t put a tax return in while they were
working elsewhere and pay their HECS [Higher
Education Contribution Scheme] or HELP [Higher
Education Loan Program] debt based on the income
they were earning, for example,” says Keating.